1 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

Introduction These Admission Arrangements comply with the requirements of the 2014 School Admissions Code and the 2012 School Admission Appeals Code issued by the Department for Education under Section 84 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and are reviewed and published annually by the Academy Trust (the Admissions Authority). If at any time, the Academy Trust should propose to alter its policy or practice, a public consultation will be conducted in accordance with the statutory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code.

In the interests of clarity, this document is set out under the following headings:

1.0 - General information 2.0 - Starting School in Reception - September 2020 (the ‘normal admissions round’) 3.0 - Changing School – The ‘in-year’ application process 4.0 – The Oversubscription Criteria 5.0 - Lodging an Appeal 6.0 - Key contact details

Appendix A: Glossary and definitions Appendix B: In-Year application Form Appendix C: Supplementary Information Form

If you would like to discuss your particular circumstances or require further help with any aspect of the school admissions process, please contact the school’s admissions secretary via the School Office - telephone: 01981 540221 It is recommended that you also visit the school website. It provides a lot of useful information about the school community and curriculum which will be helpful when choosing a school www.steineracademyhereford.eu

Any concern relating to the statutory compliance of these admission arrangements or the fairness and equality of local policy/practice should initially be raised with the School Office. If the concern cannot be resolved locally, the matter may be escalated to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

1.0 General Information 1.1 The School The Steiner Academy is an all-through school, which provides Steiner education for children from rising 4-16. Admission applications are considered by an Admissions Committee comprising of at least three members of the Academy Trust. The school is regularly oversubscribed and operates waiting lists for all year groups. 1.2 Who can apply for a place at the school? A parent, registered carer, or other person(s) who has an assigned responsibility for the child concerned (referred to throughout this document as ‘the parent’) may submit a school admission application on behalf of that child for any United Kingdom (UK) state funded school. 1.3 The child The child must, at the time of application, be a UK citizen, or have European Economic Area Citizenship, or hold an appropriate Home Office Visa entitling him/her to live in the UK. 1.4 The home address For admission purposes, the Admissions Authority defines the ‘home address’ to be:

1 2 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

the address at which the child concerned is living, at the time of application, for more than 2.5 school days per week, with the person(s) who has legal responsibility for this child. This address should be clearly stated on the application form.

Where the child will be moving to a new home address and the parent wishes this to be taken into account, one of the following documents, depending on the circumstances of the case, must be made available at the time of application.

 A legal ‘exchange of contract’ which confirms the purchase of the property  A copy of a formal tenancy agreement (minimum six month term) signed and dated by the Landlord for the property and the applicant  Where the child will be living at an address other than the parental family home, for more than 2.5 school days per week (for example with an extended family member, or in emergency or other public accommodation) a formal written letter, signed and dated by the person responsible for the address in question. This must explain the living/care arrangements for the child and state how long these arrangements will be in place.  For Children of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area or Crown servants returning from overseas, an official letter confirming a relocation date and Unit postal address or quartering area address 1.5 Siblings The oversubscription criteria set out in section 4.2 of these admission arrangements prioritises applications for children with a sibling attending the school at the time of application who will still be on roll at the time of admission.

If a parent wishes a sibling connection to be taken into account, the sibling’s details must be provided on the admission application form and he/she must qualify as a full, half or adoptive brother or sister, or a child living for the majority of his/her school time (more than 2.5 school days per week) within the same family unit and at the same home address.

The published Admission Number or admission limit will be exceeded in order that multiple birth siblings (twin, triplet etc.) can be offered places at the same school and likewise for child(ren) of a newly recruited teacher or a returning student where there are compassionate grounds. 1.6 Waiting lists If an admission application is refused because the year applied for is full, the parent has the right to appeal. The child’s name will be entered onto a waiting list for that year group. This waiting list will be maintained until the end of the school year and then shut down. Children’s names are ranked on the waiting list according to compliance with the oversubscription criteria and each time a child’s name is added, the waiting list will be re-ranked. If a place becomes available in the appropriate year, this will be offered for the child ranked highest on the waiting list at that time. A child’s name will be removed from the waiting list if a place is offered and declined, or the parent(s) informs the school in writing to remove his/her child’s name. 1.7 Misleading or false information Should the admission authority become aware that a place was secured for a child at the school on the basis of misleading or false information, it will consider withdrawing the offer, or where a child has already started to attend the school may remove the child from the school roll. The circumstances of the case will be fully discussed with the parent and if the decision is taken to withdraw the offer of a place, the application will be considered afresh, taking account of any new information.

2 3 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

2.0 Starting School in Reception - September 2020 (The ‘normal’ Admissions round) 2.1 The Published Admission Number (PAN) The PAN for reception (the year of entry) is 26. This is the number of places that can be provided according to the resources available. If 26 or fewer reception applications are received in September 2020, every applicant will be offered a place for their child, without condition. If more than 26 applications are received, the Admissions Authority will apply the oversubscription criteria in order to rank all the applications and identify a priority for the offer of places up to the PAN. 2.2 Submitting an ‘on time’ Reception application For a child to start school in September 2020, his/her parent(s) must complete the Common Application Form (CAF) available from the ‘home’ local authority (the home local authority is the authority in whose area the child concerned lives). In order for the application to be considered as ‘on time’ the CAF must be submitted to this local authority by 23.59 hours on 15 January 2020. The CAF may be accessed and completed via the home local authority’s ‘on line’ application system, or obtained as a paper form. Full details about the application process and information about the schools in the local authority area are explained in the ‘Composite Prospectus’ document, which each local authority must publish on 12th September annually.

For families living in , the home local authority is Herefordshire Council www.herefordshire.gov.uk/education/schools

2.3 Late Reception applications Local authorities must coordinate ‘normal admissions round’ reception applications until 31 August 2020 for children starting school in September 2020. However, if an application is submitted to the home local authority after the application deadline of 23.59 hours on 15th January 2020, it will be considered as a ‘late’ application and will not be administered until all on-time applications have been processed, at which point there may no longer be a place available at the school. 2.4 Notifying the Reception application decision Parents will receive an admission decision in writing from the home local authority on or about 16 April 2020, according to the procedure set out in this local authority’s Composite Prospectus. 2.5 Education Health and Care plan A place will be provided in Reception for any child who has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names Steiner Academy Hereford as the education provider. Depending on when the EHCP is issued, the place will be allocated within the Published Admission Number (PAN) before the consideration of any other applications, or above the PAN if places have already been offered at that time. 2.6 Starting school on a full or part time basis A parent may apply for his/her child to start school for the first time in the September following the fourth birthday and, where a place is offered, may choose for the child to start full time from day one, or to attend on a part time basis until statutory school age is reached which is during the term following the child’s fifth birthday 2.7 Deferred entry to school While a child is below statutory school age, the parent may choose to defer his/her child’s entry to school until later in the school year. However, he/she cannot defer entry beyond the point at which the child reaches statutory school age, or beyond the start of the last term in the school year (the school operates on the basis of a three term year)

3 4 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

2.8 Applying on behalf of a summer born child (born 1 April – 31 August) A parent of a ‘summer born’ child entitled to start school in September 2020 may choose to delay his/her entry to school until September 2021, where the parent considers this arrangement to be in the best educational interests of the child. The parent may also choose to apply for the reception year in September 2021 rather than year 1. However, there is a risk attached to deciding this approach, which the parent must be clear about. Although the Admission Authority will agree to a new application being submitted for a reception place in September 2021, there can be no indication given as to whether a place will available until the 2021 ‘normal admissions round’ is complete. The following process will apply:

1. The parent must submit an application to the home local authority during the 2020 ‘normal admissions round’, making it clear in the text box on the application form that he/she wishes to delay the child’s entry until September 2021. Where the intention is for the child to start with the 2021 reception cohort, this must also be clearly stated on the form. The Admission Authority will formally note the parent(s) instruction and will not process the 2020 application. The child will no longer be considered as part of the 2020 ‘normal admissions round’.

2. The parent must then wait and make an entirely new application as part of the 2021 ‘normal’ admissions round in accordance with the application process described in the home local authority 2021 Composite Prospectus document. This will be made available by the local authority on 12 September 2020. The parent should also take account of the 2020/21 Admission Arrangements applying to the school.

3. If the school is undersubscribed with reception applications for September 2021, the applicant will receive the offer of a place, without condition, for his/her child on or around 16th April 2021. If the school is oversubscribed with applications for September 2021, the published oversubscription criteria will be applied in order to rank all the applications received (including delayed entry applications) and identify a priority for the offer of available reception places. Whether a place can be offered will depend on the outcome of the application ranking exercise.

4. If the September 2021 reception application is refused, the right of appeal will apply.

5. Where a parent delays a child’s entry until 2021 and decides that he/she should join year 1 instead of reception, he/she will need to make an in-year application within six school weeks of the place being required.

3.0 Changing school (Submitting an In-Year application) 3.1 The Admission Limit The statutory Published Admission Number applies only for the year of entry (reception). For every other year, the Admissions Committee will agree a non-statutory admission limit as a guideline to the number of places available. Admission limits will be set in order to ensure the efficient delivery of education and the efficient use of resources in terms of available accommodation, class organisation, the needs of the children and the resources required to support the children. Consequently, the admission limit for each year group normally is 26, which represents the number of places available in any Class. 3.2 Submitting an in-year application In-year applications may be submitted at any time but will only be administered during school term time and within six school weeks of the place being required, unless the application is

4 5 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

for a child from a Service family relocating to the area, or the parent is a Crown Servant returning from overseas. In these circumstances, an application may be considered further in advance, where this is confirmed by official letter that sets out a relocation date as wells as a Unit postal address or a quartering area address. This must be submitted as part of the application. 3.3 Applying for a year group other than the one defined by the child’s chronological age An in-year application will usually be submitted for the year group associated with the child’s age. However, a parent(s) may also apply for a different year group if they consider this would be in the best educational interests of their child. In these circumstances, the application must be accompanied with as much information as possible to support the case for ‘retaining’ or ‘accelerating’ a child. It is for the Admissions Authority to decide whether to support such a request, which will be considered according to the information provided, the circumstances of the case and what is deemed to be in the best educational interests of the child concerned. If an application for a retained or accelerated year is refused, the Admission Authority will consider whether a place can be offered in the chronological age year group. Retained and accelerated placements made in-year will be reviewed annually. 3.4 The decision On receipt of a signed and dated in-year application form, the Admission Authority will evaluate whether a place can be made available without prejudicing ‘the efficient delivery of education or the efficient use of resources’. The admission decision will be notified to the applicant in writing within ten school days of the school receiving the in-year application form. 3.5 Accepting the offer of a place Where a place is offered, the parent(s) will be asked to confirm acceptance in writing (by letter or email) within ten school days of receipt, following which the place will remain available for the remainder of six school weeks from the date of the decision letter. If the child concerned is not attending school within this time frame, the Admissions Committee will write to the original applicant to withdraw the offer. 3.6 Applying the Fair Access Protocol Where an in-year place cannot be provided, the Admissions Authority will consider the information provided on the admission application form against the criteria set out in the Herefordshire Council Fair Access Protocol (FAP), which is published on this authority’s website. If the child concerned satisfies any of the FAP criteria, the In-Year application will be referred to the Local Authority, which may then choose to engage with the family in order to identify a suitable educational placement. 3.7 Children issued with an Education Health and Care plan If a child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place which names a particular education setting, the parent(s) must consult the local authority that issued the EHCP if the parent(s) wants the LA to review the school named in the EHCP.

4.0 The Oversubscription Criteria 4.1 Oversubscription If there are more applications received at any one time than there are places available within the preferred year group (oversubscription), the Admissions Authority will rank every application according to the oversubscription criteria set out in section 5.2. This will identify a priority for the offer of available place(s). The oversubscription criteria will also be applied in order to rank children’s names on a waiting list. 4.2 The Oversubscription Criteria

1. A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special

5 6 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

guardianship order. A looked after child is a child who, at the time of application, is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989 applies

2. Children with a sibling who has attended the Steiner Academy Hereford for more than one year at the time of application, who will still be on roll at the time of admission and who lives at the same address (refer to section 1.5 of these admission arrangements for the definition of ‘sibling’)

3. Children with a sibling who has attended the Steiner Academy Hereford for less than one year at the time of application, who will still be on roll at the time of admission and who lives at the same address (refer to section 1.5 of these admission arrangements for the definition of ‘sibling’)

4. Kindergarten children registered at the Academy at the time of application and whose age entitles them to transfer to the reception year in September following application

5. Children not satisfying a higher criterion

Note: The Supplementary Information Form must be completed and submitted in conjunction with the school place application where the applicant wishes a child to be considered against criterion 1 4.3 Prioritising applications by distance measurement In the event of oversubscription and the consequent need to rank all applications against the oversubscription criteria, the admission number/limit may be reached part way through a particular criterion. The ranked order for applications satisfying this ‘cut off’ criterion and any lower placed criterion will be determined according to the distance between each child’s home and the academy. Places are prioritised for those children living nearest to the school, using Hereford LA’s method of measuring routed distance between the main gate of the school and the door of the child’s permanent home.

4.4 Applying a tie-breaker Where two or more straight-line distances are exactly the same and it proves necessary to rank the relevant applications in order to identify a priority for the offer of any available place(s), the order of priority will be determined by the drawing of lots. This activity will take place at the school and be supervised by a person entirely independent of the Admissions Authority and the school. 4.5 Supplementary Information Form (SIF) The Supplementary Information Form (SIF) is available on the school website (appendix ‘C’). This is designed to collect information required in order to evidence that a child qualifies against particular oversubscription criteria. The SIF must be completed and submitted in conjunction with the admission application form where the applicant wishes qualifying information to be taken into account, should it prove necessary for the oversubscription to be applied in order to prioritise applications. In some cases, a member of the Admissions Committee, or an appointed agent, may need to contact the applicant to discuss the information submitted on the SIF.

6 7 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

5.0 Lodging an appeal 5.1 The legal right to an appeal hearing The administration of school admission appeals is subject to statutory procedure set out in the 2012 School Admission Appeals Code issued by the Department for Education. A parent whose child is refused admission to the school is legally entitled to appeal against that decision. The refusal letter issued by the Admissions Committee will explain how to complete this process and an appeal form is available to download from the school website, or can be requested from the School Office 5.2 The case for refusing admission The Admission authority can refuse to admit a child to the school where a further admission would ‘prejudice the efficient delivery of education or the efficient use of resources’. 5.3 The appeals timetable An appeals timetable is published on the school website by 28 February each year. This sets out the statutory time frame within which an appeal hearing must take place as well as the administrative timeframe within which the Admissions Authority undertakes to process any appeal lodged with the school. 5.4 Complaints about the administration of the appeals process The decision of an independent appeal panel is binding on all parties. However, where there is concern that the appeal process has not been properly administered in accordance with the 2012 School Admission Appeals Code, a complaint may be raised with the Education Funding Agency

6.0 Key contact details The School Steiner Academy Hereford Hereford HR2 8DL

Telephone 01981 540221 School website: www.steineracademyhereford.eu

Admissions enquiries Email: [email protected]

Principal: Kate Andrews Email: [email protected]

For families resident in Herefordshire Council Herefordshire, the ‘home’ local Plough Lane authority is Herefordshire Hereford Council HR4 0LE

Telephone: 01432 260000 Website: www.herefordshire.gov.uk/education/schoools

The Office of The Schools https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the- Adjudicator schools-adjudicator

The Education Funding Agency https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/education-funding- agency

7 8 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

The Department for Education The Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BT Telephone 0370 000 2288 Electronic contact form: form.education.gov.uk Website: www.education.gov.uk School Admissions Code https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions- code--2 School Admission Appeals Code https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions- appeals-code

Appendix A Glossary and definitions The ‘normal’ admissions The period during which parents are invited to express a minimum of round three preferences for a place at any state-funded school, in rank order on the common application form provided by their home local authority. This period usually follows publication of the local authority composite prospectus on 12 September, with the deadline for parental applications of 15 January for places and subsequent offers made to parents on National Offer Day In-year admission A school admission application submitted in connection with a place application required at any time during the academic year. In most cases and where the local authority has chosen not to coordinate in-year applications, the application form will be submitted directly to the school concerned. Home Local Authority A child’s home local authority is the local authority in whose area the child resides. Maintaining Local Authority The area in which a school is located is referred to as the maintaining local authority. Academy A State funded school in , set up as a non-profit making charitable Trust, which is independent of local authority control and funded directly via the Education Funding Agency. Admission Authority The body responsible for setting and applying a school’s admission arrangements. For community or voluntary controlled schools, this body is the local authority unless it has agreed to delegate responsibility to the governing body. For foundation or voluntary aided schools, this body is the governing body of the school. For Academies, this body is the Academy Trust. Admission Arrangements The overall procedure, practices and oversubscription criteria used in deciding the allocation of school places including any device or means used to determine whether a school place is to be offered. Published Admission The number of school places that the admission authority must offer in Number – (PAN) each relevant age group of a school for which it is the admission authority. Admission numbers are part of a school’s admission arrangements. Admission Limit A non statutory limit applying to year groups other than the year(s) of entry which indicates the number of places to be offered, usually determined according to the level of resource available Common Application Form The form parents complete, listing their preferred choices of schools, and (CAF) then submit to local authorities when applying for a school place for their child as part of the local co-ordination scheme, during the normal admissions round. Parents must be allowed to express a preference for a

8 9 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21

minimum of three schools on the relevant common application form as determined by their local authority. Local authorities may allow parents to express a higher number of preferences if they wish. Composite prospectus The prospectus that a local authority is required to publish by 12 September in the offer year. This prospectus must include detailed admission arrangements of all maintained schools in the area (including admission numbers and catchment areas). Co-ordinated Scheme All local authorities are required to co-ordinate the normal admissions round for primary and secondary schools in their area. Schools can take in-year applications directly from parents, provided they notify their local authority of each application and its outcome. Each Local Authority must produce and publish a Coordinated Admissions Scheme National Offer Day The day each year on which local authorities are required to send the offer of a school place to all parents of secondary age pupils in their area. For primary pupils, offers are sent out on or about 16 April and for secondary pupils on or about 1 March. The specific date will be published in the home local authority Composite Prospectus. Offer Year The school year immediately preceding the school year in which pupils are to be admitted to schools under the admission arrangements in question. This is the school year in which the offers of school places are communicated. Oversubscription Criteria This refers to the published criteria that an admission authority applies when a school has more applications than places available in order to decide which children will be allocated a place. Reception Class Defined by Section 142 of the SSFA 1998 as a class in which education is provided which is suitable for children aged five and any children who are under or over five years old whom it is expedient to educate with pupils of that age. Relevant Age Group The age group to which children are normally admitted. Each relevant age group must have admission arrangements, including an admission number. Some schools (for example schools with sixth forms which admit children into the sixth form) may have more than one relevant age group. School Year The period beginning with the first school term to begin after July and ending with the beginning of the first such term to begin after the following July, as defined by Section 579 of the Education Act 1996.

9